Monday, January 30, 2012

Last week actress Cynthia Nixon, once the darling of the equality movement, since coming out a few years ago, has endured a shit storm of criticism in the last week over remarks she made in an interview with The New York Times magazine.

"I understand that for many people it's not, but for me it's a choice, and you don't get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it's a choice, then we could opt out. I say it doesn't matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not. "

Cynthia, dear, you just defined gayness for all of us. It's only fair that we return the favor.

Studies have shown that sexual orientation in women is more fluid than it is for men. I get that. Our community gets that. So why don't you get that? You are not gay, you are bisexual, omni-sexual or pansexual. Or maybe you're one of those enlightened individuals who shuns labels altogether and just "falls in love with the person" and that's totally cool. Just don't use my label, because whatever you are, you are not gay.

Gay people don't choose to be gay, therefore, you are not gay.

Sure, I get the whole thing about how it doesn't matter if it's a choice or not. Even if it was a choice, we live in a nation that respects and protects the right of the individual to choose how they want to live, blah, blah, blah. I've used that argument countless times with closed-minded, uneducated homophobes who deny the growing body of scientific evidence to the contrary. These people just aren't comfortable with themselves and anything or anybody that falls outside their narrow world view.

These are the same people who teach their home-schooled kids that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that humans lived side by side with dinosaurs like on The Flintstones and who believe that Sarah Palin would make a great president. We consider these people to be irrational, out of touch with reality and without a shred of credibility. I see no reason why we should see you in any different light just because you're a celebrity.

Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Out, the group whose mission is to expose the lies and damage done by the ex-gay movement said in a statement, "Cynthia did not put adequate thought into the ramifications of her words, and it is going to be used when some kid comes out and their parents force them into some ex-gay camp while she's off drinking cocktails at fancy parties," Besen said. "When people say it's a choice, they are green-lighting an enormous amount of abuse because if it's a choice, people will try to influence and guide young people to what they perceive as the right choice."

This year we hope to see a ruling in the fight to overturn Prop 8. I think it is completely within the realm of possibility that you, Ms. Nixon, will be called as an expert star witness for the pro-H8 side. Yes, my dear, your irresponsible statements could be used to do irreparable damage to your own community. If you think you're in the middle of a shit storm now, just wait until David Boies and Ted Olson start their cross examination.

So on behalf of the Gay and Lesbian community, you are hereby fired as a celebrity spokesman. Your services are no longer required. Turn in your keys and your membership card. Security will pack up your desk and escort you off of the premises. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.

UPDATE:

In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding her statements to The Times, The Advocate contacted Nixon on Monday for a clarification. Here is what she had to say:

"My recent comments in The New York Times were about me and my personal story of being gay. I believe we all have different ways we came to the gay community and we can't and shouldn't be pigeon-holed into one cultural narrative which can be uninclusive and disempowering. However, to the extent that anyone wishes to interpret my words in a strictly legal context I would like to clarify:

"While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship.

"As I said in the Times and will say again here, I do, however, believe that most members of our community — as well as the majority of heterosexuals — cannot and do not choose the gender of the persons with whom they seek to have intimate relationships because, unlike me, they are only attracted to one sex.

"Our community is not a monolith, thank goodness, any more than America itself is. I look forward to and will continue to work toward the day when America recognizes all of us as full and equal citizens."

While it is gratifying that Ms. Nixon has clarified her remarks, it's what you say before somebody presses you to explain yourself that tends to have the most resonance.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

As support for marriage equality builds in the New Jersey state legislature, LGBT advocates were hopeful that Republican Governor Chris Christie was coming around. Just yesterday Christie announced his nominations for two positions on the NJ Supreme Court, which includes Bruce Harris, 61, the openly gay former mayor of Chatham, NJ.

On Tuesday, however, Christie dashed the hopes of Marriage Equality supporters, saying he would veto any legislation aimed at legalizing Marriage Equality and called for the issue to be put to a public vote. From NJ.com:

"I think this is not an issue that should rest solely in my hands, or the hands of the Senate President or the Speaker or the other 118 members of the Legislature," he said. "Let's let the people of New Jersey decide what is right for the state."

That's right, gays and gals. One more republican refusing to do his job and instead counting on mob rule to to resolve the foremost civil rights issue of our time.

Christie went on to say, "Let's make sure that political maneuvering is not what judges this and let's make sure this is not someone just trying to have fun and create a campaign issue," he said. "The institution of marriage if too serious to be treated like a political football."

Excuse me? Using same-sex marriage as a wedge issue to get the homophobic Republican base to the polls is a tried and true GOP political maneuver. The Bush campaign did it very successfully in '06 and North Carolina is doing the same in the coming primary in May with Amendment One.

Washing your hands of a controversial issue involving the rights of human beings and throwing it to the angry mobs goes all the way back to Pontius Pilot. Abdicating your responsibility instead of showing true leadership is nothing more than cowardice, especially when new polling shows that 52% of New Jersey voters now favor marriage equality.

If Governor Christie can't take the heat, he should get his fat ass out of the kitchen.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

You can't make this shit up. On the heels of the announcement on Friday that former senator Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum actually won the Iowa caucus, the "come from behind" jokes have been all over the interwebs.

Given that Santorum's supporters have literally begged Dan Savage to take down his site (SpreadingSantorum.com) and Little Ricky's wife has taken to whining to the press about the evil gays bullying her poor husband, who really does love us, even though he compared us to pedophiles and dog rapists, it's understandable that his campaign would be trying their best to fix his little Google problem.

The goal of the site was to raise a cool million over the weekend, which they surpassed by raking in $1.68 million in 72 hours. Not bad. Turns out there's a lot of money in being a lying, hateful, sack of shit.

White House Press Secretary Jay CarneyThe job of the White House Press Secretary is to meet with the press and dole out pre-approved answers to questions that have been already been anticipated and discussed behind closed doors in advance of the meeting.

The White House Press Corps knows this. Members of this exclusive club wouldn't have worked their way up the food chain to the coveted position of White House Correspondent without learning the rules of the game. Its their job to try to trip up the press secretary and get him or her to reveal more than they intended.

That's not what happened this week in the much-regurgitated non-story, that has the LGBT blogosphere all atwitter. The Washington Blade reports:

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Friday he wouldn’t rule “in or out” the possibility of President Obama endorsing same-sex marriage in the upcoming State of the Union address.

Carney made the remarks on whether Obama would announce support for marriage equality during the State of the Union address, which is set to take place Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, in response to a question from the Washington Blade.

“I will not rule anything in or out,” Carney said. “I’m just not going to talk about — beyond pointing at his words — his personal views on this. I think his administration’s policies on related issues are there for people to judge.”

In the wake of this latest nondisclosure, The Blade, The Washington Post, blogger Andrew Sullivan, ThinkProgress, LGBTQ Nation, Instinct and On Top have all been speculating about whether or not the president will endorse Marriage Equality in Tuesday's speech.

Uh, folks? Simply because the question was asked again, doesn't mean the answer has changed. Repeating the question ad nauseum doesn't change the answer, it only fuels the build-up to a major let-down.

This president isn't likely to blow his chances of re-election just to appease the LGBT community. As much as public opinion has shifted in our favor, keep in mind that only half of those eligible to vote actually do so. Of those, most will vote along party lines. It only takes a 1% shift to win an election, which is squarely within the margin of error.

Obama may be a lot of things, but he's not stupid. He has never tipped his hand before and there is no reason to think he will now. What Carney did on Friday was take a lesson from the press and rephrase the answer to a rephrased question and they swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Tuesday's speech will be about the economy and job creation. That's the message that's going to make a difference in this election.

If the GOP thinks they can win on social issues, that's their gamble to take. We know that we stand a better chance of achieving our goals with Obama than with anyone in the GOP clown car. If the president has to keep his mouth shut on marriage equality in order to win the election, the LGBT community had better suck it up, face reality and do what we can to assure that he wins.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Given the steady stream of right-wing nut jobs dropping like flies with each passing week, one might be left to wonder if the GOP's base has finally begun to seek the much-need and long overdue psychiatric help that moderates and progressives have been recommending for so many years.

This year's version of Bush Lite, Texas Governor Rick Perry, announced this morning that he is ending his dominionist campaign for the White House after realizing that God's message telling him to create a Chistianist Theocracy in the good ole US of A was nothing more than a prank call from some bored high school kids.

Perry begrudgingly offered his support to serial monogamist, Newt Gingrich. According to the New York Times, Perry, surrounded by his family, told a gathering of supporters, “Newt is not perfect, but who among us is,” Mr. Perry said. “The fact is, there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption, for it is a central tenet of my Christian faith.”

The Texas governor said he would be heading home for a some much needed rest and to catch his refrigerator, which he just remembered, was running.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Thousands of internet sites are going dark today to protest pending legislation know as the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA). Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook and Yahoo! are leading the charge against the legislation, arguing that the legislation, aimed at combating internet piracy, is too over-reaching and amounts to nothing more than government censorship of the web and would have a crippling effect on e-commerce.

If SOPA becomes law, you could be held criminally liable for everything you share on Facebook, Twitter or post on YouTube if the original content was not created by you. Access to these and other web sites would be blocked if they post content created by others without permission. Services like Paypal would be prohibited from processing payments for those sites as well.

While the issue of online piracy is a real concern, do we really want to create a police state in order to fight it?

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I've been to several national marches for LGBT rights in Washington over the years. I even worked crowd control for the '93 march, which drew an estimated half a million participants. I can't begin to imagine what it must have taken to organize such and event.

I am amazed that the last march in '09 took six months to plan from the moment activist and author, David Mixner proposed the idea, until Cleve Jones, his trademark megaphone in hand, led the massive crowd through the streets of DC. I've heard people say we need to march more often, but given the logistics, it's a wonder any of these marches happen at all. The main reason cited by people who don't go to the marches are the hassle and expense of traveling to DC and booking a hotel room.

But what if you could take part in a worldwide march without leaving the comfort of your own home town? That's the idea behind the Worldwide LGBT March. The Washington Blade reports:

A Facebook group of LGBT rights advocates that claims to have 20,000 members is organizing a series of simultaneous LGBT civil rights marches in the U.S. and abroad that are scheduled to take place April 21.

Oklahoma City gay activist Joe Knudson, who initiated what he hopes will be the world’s largest peaceful protest on behalf of LGBT equality, says organizers have so far lined up marches in 10 U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C; New York City; Chicago; Atlanta; and Hampton, Va.
He said the only location outside the U.S. confirmed for one of the marches so far is an as yet to be selected city in Pakistan. A number of participating cities in Europe are expected to be announced soon, he said.

“The Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March in 2012 is already gathering sponsors and supporters by the thousands, as well as initial lead organizers from around the world,” organizers said in an October posting on Facebook.

“The march will be held worldwide at various locations at the same time, as well as an online news media event that will keep everyone posted on the events at all locations,” the Facebook posting says.

The problem so far has been getting the word out to the larger LGBT community. An informal survey by the Blade shows that none of the major LGBT organizations are even aware of the plans for a Worldwide March, but that could actually a plus. The community as a whole has grown increasingly disillusioned by groups like HRC, GLAAD and others who claim to speak for us, but because of their "DC insider" status, seem out of touch.

Maybe something modeled after the Occupy movement is just what we need.

Monday, January 16, 2012

"My husband, Martin Luther King Jr., once said, 'We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny… an inescapable network of mutuality,… I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be.' Therefore, I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.

Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions.”

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that "Work It", the lame reworking of an equally lame 80's sit-com, (Bosom Buddies) has been cancelled after just two episodes.

"Work It" features two straight guys who decide that they have to dress as women to get a job, because apparently it's so easy for transsexuals to get hired these days and it gives a guy an edge in an interview if he shows up in a dress. Gee, why didn't I think of that?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in this case it may just be lame. There's a new web site hoping to do for Mitt Romney what Dan Savage did for Rick Santorum.

The unknown creator(s) of SpreadingRomney.com is/are attempting to redefine the GOP front runner's last name to mean something disgusting in the hope that it will turn up in Google searches. The new definition of Romney is "to defecate in terror."

I first came across the site as a link posted to FaceBook. When I did the Google test myself, the site came up as the #17 search result, which appeared on the second page of the first 10. Not bad considering that it was launched anonymously, without the benefit of Dan Savage's legions of readers at Savage Love. There's a sort of poetic irony to seeing the Rick Santorum ad running in the top banner of Savage's love and sex advice column.

Even though Mitt Romney is a Mormon and that "church" is a co-founder and major source of funding of the hateful anti-gay group, the National Organization for Marriage, I don't recall Mittens using the level of hate speech that Santorum has used. And while I don't see the Romney redefinition campaign going very far, I find it amusing none the less. So, Google your little fingers off and see if you can help the cause.

Veteran Hollywood actor -- and my all-time favorite hunk -- George Clooney is all set to play attorney David Boies in Dustin Lance Black's stage production "8", coming soon to LA. Boies is part of the dream team fighting to overturn California's Proposition 8, the voter initiative to took away the right of same-sex couples to legally marry in the Golden State.

Clooney recently told E! Online,"I think the world is changing and it's becoming less and less of an issue and I think it shouldn't be long now," Clooney said. "I think younger people are looking at this like, 'Who cares?'

"I do believe it's generational, much like the civil rights movement," he continued. "Young people started taking to the streets and things changed. This really is the final leg of the civil rights movement."From your lips to God's ears, stud.

On a side note, I never knew it was so hard to pick a picture of George Clooney. He just looks so damn fine in all of them.

We write to respond to a news report from Canada that a lawyer in the current government has taken a position in a trial-level divorce proceeding that a same-sex couple’s marriage is not valid because the members of the couple were not Canada residents at the time that they married, and the law of their home jurisdiction did not permit them to marry at the time.

No one’s marriage has been invalidated or is likely to be invalidated. The position taken by one government lawyer in a divorce is not itself precedential. No court has accepted this view and there is no reason to believe that either Canada’s courts or its Parliament would agree with this position, which no one has asserted before during the eight years that same-sex couples have had the freedom to marry in Canada.

Canada permits non-residents to marry and thousands of non-resident same-sex couples have married there since Canada first began recognizing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in 2003. Indeed, Canada’s Parliament codified the equal right to marry for same-sex couples in 2005.

The message for same-sex couples married in Canada remains the same as it is for same-sex couples validly married here in the United States: take every precaution you can to protect your relationship with legal documents such as powers of attorney and adoptions, as you may travel to jurisdictions that don't respect your legal relationship. There is no reason to suggest that Canadian marriages of same-sex couples are in jeopardy, or to advocate that people try to marry again elsewhere, as that could cause these couples unnecessary complications, anxiety, and expense.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Queen City will play host to the 2012 Democratic National Convention from September 3rd - 6th, where President Obama will accept his party's nomination to run for re-election. Local planners are expecting a much needed boost to the local economy, as conventioneers pack hotels, restaurants and other local businesses.

Folks who live and work in and around downtown Charlotte can expect traffic snarls, packed clubs, long lines everywhere and, according to watchdog group Right Wing Watch, a plethora of protests from religious extremists.

Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition and Terry Gensmer of the Charismatic Episcopal Church today announced their plans to lead demonstrations against the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Mahoney is an anti-choice stalwart whose gimmicks include photoshopping Scarlett Johansson in a Klan robe and protesting the inauguration of President Obama, who Mahoney says islying about his Christian faith. The two activists say that their protests against the convention will include “live ultrasounds throughout Charlotte” in order to have “the pre-born children of America ‘speak’ to President Obama,” along with “rallies with African-American leaders” to bolster their claims that legal abortion is a surreptitious way to commit black genocide:

Rev. Mahoney is the Director of the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington, D.C. and Father Terry Gensemer is the Director of CEC for Life based in Birmingham, Alabama.

The group hopes to see thousands from Charlotte and around the nation participate in the event which will include: prayer vigils and rallies seeking God for the healing of our nation, calls for repentance from the Christian community, reaching out to the needy in Charlotte with love and service projects, major public events around the City of Charlotte, calling on President Obama and praying for him to embrace life, family, marriage, religious liberty and human rights and justice for all.

A major focus will be on the pro-life issue and will include such things as: leaving 3,300 flowers at the Time Warner Arena to remember and honor the 3,300 children who die every day from abortion, prayer at local abortion clinics, "Voices from the Womb" which will perform live ultrasounds throughout Charlotte having the pre-born children of America "speak" to President Obama and rallies with African-American leaders focusing on the high rate of abortions in the black community.

Monday, January 9, 2012

On Friday, like everybody else, I posted the breaking news that former child actor Kristy McNichol announced to the world via People Magazine and her publicist that she is a lesbian and has been with her partner, Martie Allen for 20 years. McNichol said that her purpose in coming out publicly is to help make life a little easier for kids who are being bullied because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Reactions to McNichol's announcement have ranged from the cynical to the celebratory. Many people, like myself, who remember her as a child star in her Emmy-winning role on the ABC show "Family" thought it was about time. We had Kristie pegged from the start as family.

Others may remember McNichol from her role in the 80's on the "Golden Girls" spin-off "Empty Nest". McNichol left that show after four seasons due to her battle with bi-polar disorder and has been out of the public eye ever since.

There certainly has been no shortage of celebs coming out over the last several years, from Elton John and k.d. lang, to Melissa Etheridge and George Michael. In the last year alone we saw McNichol's former "Family" costar Meredith Baxter come out, as well as singers Ricky Martin and Shelly Wright. But perhaps the biggest coming out story of the last year was that of Chaz Bono, who came out as transsexual.

The right wing lunatic fringe aside, in the post "Will and Grace" era most Americans react to a celebrity coming out story with a resounding, "So what?"

With gay main characters on hit family TV shows like "Glee" and Ellen DeGeneres dancing up a storm with millions of moms in the comfort of their own living rooms, we are left to wonder if the single most important personal event in the life of every LGBT person has become a non-event.

"One more, and we, as a society and nation, shall be at our mandatory 'had it up to here with coming out of glass closets' limit. After that, only people who would surprise Carson Kressley shall be allowed to announce they're gay with any media notice."

I enjoy following Marsha's posts. She's always thought-provoking and gets her followers engaged in subjects that they might not otherwise talk about. My first reaction (and maybe yours) was my usual knee-jerk, finger pointing instinct, but I stopped myself.

Before I did the obvious, I read through the comment thread. There wasn't anything homophobic. In fact, most people were supportive, as were Warfield's follow up questions and remarks. She was engaging in a conversation with people who probably don't discuss coming out very often. There was nothing derogatory and I had to remind myself that this was a joke from a comedian and it was pretty funny and, as usual with Warfield's posts, it caused me and others to think.

For the LGBT community, every coming out story is significant, even when we're tired of hearing them. We've all been through the painful process of talking to our friends and family and confronting our fear of rejection. For someone in show biz, the fear is even bigger, because coming out can leave them typecast or even unemployable. Has anyone seen Rupert Everett lately?

On the other hand, for an increasing number of Hetero-Americans, who long ago accepted the fact that we're here, we're queer and have gotten used to it, another celebrity coming out story is just plain boring, even when they say they're doing it to help the kids.

For those of us who live our lives in relative obscurity, we don't come out for altruistic reasons. We do it to live our lives honestly and openly. We do it as part of a personal growth process. We do it because no matter whatever ugliness the world throws at us, whatever rights are denied us, whatever relationships or jobs we lose as a consequence, none of that compares to the pain and self-loathing that comes with living a lie. I think most of our straight friends get that.

But what they don't get is the sense of community, identity and family that we get when we sit down and share our coming out stories with each other. So if straight folks don't bat an eye any more when one of us comes out, it's a sign of how far we've come.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Democratic leaders in New Jersey have scheduled press conference for Monday where they will announce the introduction of legislation making same-sex marriage legal in the Garden State. The main obstacle will be getting it past the desk of Republican Governor Chris Christie.

TRENTON - In a dramatic move, Democratic leaders plan to announce at a news conference Monday that a bill legalizing gay marriage will be the first measure introduced in the new session of the Senate and the Assembly, sources with knowledge of their intentions said last night.

A unified Democratic leadership represents the best chance supporters will have to see a bill legalizing gay marriage move through both houses, according to three sources who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the plan.

State Sen. President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who is now said to be a pivotal supporter of the legislation, abstained the last time a similar bill was voted down by the Legislature in 2010 — a decision he later said he regretted more than any other in his career. A spokesman for Sweeney did not respond to questions about the plan last night.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) will also be at the news conference, ensuring that the proposal has the support of the state’s two most powerful Democratic lawmakers. She could not be reached for comment.

But there’s a major obstacle: Gov. Chris Christie.

A spokesman for the governor, Michael Drewniak, declined to comment on the move. But Christie has emphasized in the past that he opposes gay marriage and supports civil unions, civil unions, which New Jersey currently allows.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Dan Savage"Porno Pete" LaBarbera is an anti-gay activist who has made a career of spreading the vilest lies about the LGBT community. The radio host and founder of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality got his nickname for going undercover into the bowels of the gay leather, S&M and hardcore porn scenes in order to research the "gay lifestyle".

For the last few years Porno Pete has had an ongoing feud with blogger Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God.

Now, it seems the pro-family perv has picked a fight with columnist and It Gets Better co-founder Dan Savage, creator of the site SpreadingSantorum.com, the infamous site that's been giving the GOP presidential candidate, who compared homosexuality to bestiality a few years ago, a sloppy second dose of his own medicine. Santorum's surge from behind in Iowa last Tuesday prompted Porno Pete to intervene on Santorum's behalf, as he explained in the following tweet:

Friday, January 6, 2012

For a generation of girls who like girls growing up in the 70's, Kristy McNichol was the tomboy of their dreams on the weekly drama, "Family", where she played the angst-ridden preteen, Buddy, who would rather play baseball than Barbie dolls. Her costar on the Emmy-winning show was Meredith Baxter, who played big sister Nancy, who was married to Baxter's then real life (abusive) husband David Birney.

Today, McNichol revealed what many of her fans had always believed. Like her former costar, she is a lesbian.

McNichol, 49, who has lived with her partner Martie Allen, also 49, for the past two decades, decided to make a statement about her sexuality and share this photo because she is "approaching 50" and wants to "be open about who I am."

She "is very sad about kids being bullied," her publicist Jeff Ballard tells PEOPLE. "She hopes that coming out can help kids who need support. She would like to help others who feel different."

In my last post (2 freakin' months ago!) on Rev. Steve, I quoted Socrates -- "The unexamined life is not worth living." That quote is so much more than just something clever to post when there's nothing else to say. They are words that I've tried to live by as I've stumbled my way through this life.

So many people live their lives in absolute certainty, never questioning their beliefs or what motives them to say and do the things that define them. To my way of thinking, those people are fools.

So what have I been up to for the last several weeks? For the most part, I've been involved in moving to North Carolina, looking for work, training for the job I got and getting the house settled. There have also been the humdrum details on finding my way around town, meeting people and getting used to living next door to my in-laws, who are a never-ending source of self-induced drama.

All of this has left me a little too preoccupied to feel the creative muse, but has given me the opportunity to think about the direction I want to take with my online endeavors. I think it's healthy to take a step back now and then and try to look at things from a different perspective. What I began to see was my place in what's been called the LGBT Echo Chamber. My intent in writing this blog has always been to offer my own opinion on newsworthy topics that are relevant to the fight for equality.

I often butt heads with my fellow queer bloggers by taking the opposite side of issues after digging a little more deeply into the subject at hand. I think it's become way too easy to simply go with the flow and repost what other people have written and add my own remarks just for the sake of filling the blank space. Just spend an afternoon watching the news flow on Facebook to see what I mean. With a few exceptions, they're all saying the same thing.

While I think that there are lots of talented bloggers out there whose work is worth sharing, I've begun to think that I've become overly dependent on the copy and paste mentality that has become the norm in the LGBT blogosphere. I found that my creativity has suffered as a result.

The fight for equality has evolved so quickly over the last few years. The idea of marriage equality has become mainstream. Even mainstream conservatives and church leaders have come to accept that. Yet so much of what I've read on some of my favorite blogs sounds so much the same.

So, I've decided that it's time for a fresh start. I'm suspending Rev. Steve's Cyber-Pulpit and am working on launching a new site that I hope will be a fresh look at the fight for equality with an emphasis on what's happening in local efforts across the US and around the world, which is where I believe real change is happening from the ground up. I like to think of it as Steve 2.0, which, come to think of it, is not a bad name for a blog. Hmmm.

This site is still a work in progress, so add it to your favorites and check back for updates.

About Me

Steve Publicover is a veteran LGBT rights activist and blogger living in the Charlotte, NC area. Steve has an extensive background in public speaking, advocacy and education. Contact him at stevepub123@gmail.com.